Sneak-Peek Screening of PBS Series, "The Great American Read"

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Our Library System has been Chosen to participate in the new PBS Series, "The Great American Read"!

To celebrate the event, a special "sneak-peek" screening of the premier episode of the eight-part series (which airs on PBS regular broadcasting on Tuesday, May 21st) will be shown in the Library's Meeting Room from 1 to 3 pm on Saturday, May 19th.

Read more about this exciting program, below!

Screening of Premiere of PBS Series, "The Great American Read"

Our Library System has been Chosen to participate in the new PBS Series, "The Great American Read"!

To celebrate the event, a special "sneak-peek" screening of the premier episode of the eight-part series (which airs on PBS regular broadcasting on Tuesday, may 21st) will be shown in the Library's Meeting Room from 1 to 3 pm on Saturday, May 19th.

Read more about this exciting program, below!

Appalachian Regional Library will receive a grant from the American Library Association (ALA) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) to host programs in conjunction with “The Great American Read,” an eight-part television series and multi-platform initiative that celebrates the joy of reading and the books we love.

“The Great American Read programming grant gives our communities an opportunity to be part of a national conversation about the power of literature to inform and shape the lives of all Americans, and also, we expect it will be a bunch of fun,” says Laura McPherson, Adult Services Librarian at Ashe County Public Library.

More than 220 public libraries applied for the $2,000 grants, which will support public programs around the series. Appalachian Regional Library – which includes the public libraries in Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties – was one of just 50 libraries nationwide to be selected.

The library’s programming for “The Great American Read” will kick off at 1 p.m. on May 19 with events at each of the main libraries in Boone, North Wilkesboro, and West Jefferson, where the names of the top 100 books will be announced, voting will begin, and attendees will get a sneak peek of the two-hour PBS premiere. Refreshments will be served. For more information about this and other events, visit www.arlibrary.org.

In addition to the grant money, Appalachian Regional Library will receive a DVD collection of the series with public performance rights; a hardcover copy of the companion book, “The Great American Read: The Book of Books” by PBS (Black Dog & Leventhal, August 21, 2018); and other resources.

The libraries will also have the opportunity to host “sneak peek” screenings of the series premiere and five theme episodes before they broadcast to the public.

Premiering May 22, “The Great American Read” will engage audiences with a list of 100 diverse books, encouraging audiences to read the books, vote from the list of 100, and share their personal connections to the titles.

The two-hour launch episode will kick off a summer of reading and voting. In fall 2018, seven new episodes will air, featuring appearances by celebrities, athletes, experts, authors and everyday Americans advocating for their favorite book, culminating with a finale that reveals America’s best-loved novel as chosen by the American public.